The second half of the SDSSAA football predictions features the teams ranked from fourth to sixth. No doubt that all of these squads will be highly motivated to prove just how erroneous one can be when trying to gaze into the crystal ball that is local high school football.

St. Benedict Bears (2-3 – 4th place)

As of three months ago or so, it was all but assumed that the two finalists from 2017 – St. Ben’s and Lively – would be duking it out, once again this fall, come time for the city championship. Of course, that was based on a mindset that the Bears would enjoy a typical return of 12-plus grade athletes, a group that usually numbers, for most contending schools, between six to eight experienced seniors.

When that number drops to but two or three and no longer includes the likes of Max MacGillivray and Michael Andlar, then there are some serious vacancies to be filled at St. Benedict. A mix of old and new is evident right across the roster, starting in the backfield where the presence of returning QB and Gladiators veteran Adam Rocha coincides with the arrival of newcomer Eric Elliott at running back.

Eric Huneault and Chris Gosk make for inviting targets for the prototypical pocket passer, with Robbie Zulich (junior Glads), athletic tight end Cole Crowder and double duty senior Caleb Rivers rounding the receiving bracket out nicely. The O-line is something of a rebuild, with Gabe Wabegijig about to welcome in the new fresh faces of C.J. Nacarato, Noah Furtenski, Ty Pearson and Jacob Thibeault.

There is a little more of a game proven resume on the other side of the line, led by Junior Gladiator of the Year Ben Cacciotti. The talkative trenchman will be accompanied by Elliott Robinson, Tanner Patterson and Aleandro Galiano, with the line needing to prove it can handle both pass heavy (Lively) and run heavy (St. Charles) attacks in order to leap into the top three.

There is no doubt that much of the defence will centre around the play of interior linebacker Chris Scherzinger, with Ben MacDonald making it a nice one-two punch, and Zack Giroux and Austin Mader adding key depth to the mix. It’s a similar story in the secondary, as Rivers looks to stabilize a unit that will need the likes of Aiden Klem, Braden Hanna, Brady Chisnell and possibly Huneault, as well, all to assert their presence.

Confederation Chargers (1-4 – 5th place)

If you have heard this song before, you can feel for Confederation head coach Brandon Dougan. Again this fall, he is blessed with some outstanding local high-school football talent. And again this fall, the issue will be numbers, or more precisely, a lack thereof.

Starting any season with just 25 or so players is almost always a recipe for disaster, especially by the time weeks four and five roll around. And while Bradley Patterson is likely their best bet for success at quarterback, this also means that he is not out in the open field, creating havoc for opposing outside defenders and defensive backs.

Parker Bertrand and Dan Perrault will have to be awfully quick studies as running backs, with Aiden Chmielak able to spell some time there between his roles as middle linebacker and fullback. The same names that occupy the Chargers depth chart as wideouts and slotbacks also slide in to the defensive secondary slots, meaning the likes of Mason Tremblay, Tyler Rose, Justin Bélanger, Connor MacNeil and Dylan Whitmill are all about to be kept quite busy.

More of the same on the line, though offensively speaking, the experience that the quartet of Braedyn Charette, Alex McNabb, Denver Boyuk and Austin Miller can bring to the table is promising – if they can all stay healthy. These same hulking lads will have to rotate through the defensive line as well, giving a helping hand to stalwarts Braeden Boissoneau and Lucas Sprack, with OFSAA caliber thrower Adriana Duncan also likely to try and chip in where she can.

Aiden Chmielak gives Confederation some useful experience at linebacker, with Christian Rocca at his side. After that, there’s a whole lot of questions, with simply not enough bodies to provide the answers, at least not in a way that is likely to pose a serious threat to the top four teams.

Notre Dame Alouettes (0-5 – 6th place)

Thankfully, numbers are not an issue for coaches Matt Chartrand and Eric Breau at CND. Instead, there quite frankly is not a whole lot of name recognition in the roster that opens the season for the Alouettes, be it athletes who have already established themselves as all-star caliber in this league, or starters in summer football, or even prominent names within the Joe MacDonald Youth Football ranks.

That said, if a large number of these teenagers who first cut their teeth last fall in senior football can take a large step forward, then an upset of Confederation is not out of the question, with hopes for a competitive outing against the remaining teams likely the high-end ceiling for Notre Dame.

Hosting spring sessions at the school has certainly helped ease the learning curve for the francophone crew which unveils a new quarterback in Andrew Gauthier, and a young ball carrying tandem in the form of Adoum Djibrine (grade 10) and Nick Aubin (11). Thankfully, linebacking star Eric Atoh can handle a load for time to time, though the price then could be paid defensively.

Receivers Tristan Lacroix, Alain Dufresne and Skyler Ledroux are hoping to make the folks at CND forget about the graduation of Hunter Adams to RMC. The progress along the lines could make or break the Alouettes’ season, given that the entire assembly of Josh Menard, Zack Pilon, Julien Hebert (former quarterback), Xavier Bruneau, Taggart Zuk (former LB) and Dillan Fowler have some form of game reps to draw upon.

While Atoh is pencilled in the fortify the linebacking trio, pleasant surprises from Will Sivazlian, Nathan Drolet and Jacob Lacquerre would allow Chartrand and Breau some critical flexibility on offence. The secondary was the one unit where folks were still carving out their niche, though Ethan Polley looks like a given at safety.